How to create meaningful change
With you in mind
Change can be challenging, even when we long for it. We might sense a restlessness within, our current circumstances like a dress that no longer suits us, yet can still be unsure what does.
According to Dr Julie Hannan, a psychologist and author of The Midlife Crisis Handbook: Finding Direction In The Second Half Of Life (Morency, £10.99), it’s common for midlife women to find themselves in a liminal space, caught between identities. For example, their children might have left home, or they might have outgrown the job they’ve had for two decades.
Hannan explains we lay down our values from the age of ten. ‘These are influenced by our parents, also by important figures in our lives, such as teachers, and by society. Our values guide our choices, be it what career we pursue, or who we date. But by midlife, they’ve often changed. Yet we don’t update our life to align with them. This can leave us feeling lost and stuck.’